New Beginnings
by chocolatecatsconfusion
Summary: [AU] Momo Yaoyorozu is ready to live on her own in her new apartment, but things get complicated when her quiet, rather aloof classmate Shouto Todoroki reveals he's living there as well. Her second year at Yuuei High School is off to a crazy start as she tries to navigate her living situation with the rather private Todoroki and keep her nosy friends from discovering her secret.
1. An Unexpected Surprise

The soft pitter patter of early spring rainfall played out on the streets outside as Momo Yaoyorozu paced the length of her apartment, phone pressed to her ear like a lifeline as she called her best friend.

"Kyouka!" Momo practically shrieked in excitement the moment her friend picked up. "Guess who's in her new apartment?"

"And there goes my right eardrum. Thanks Yaomomo." Kyouka Jirou's voice came rather faintly through the device, laced with sarcasm. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you are?"

"You are correct!" She said, purposefully ignoring the sardonic tone in her friend's voice.

"Nice. Are the guys from the moving company still there?"

"No, they left about ten minutes ago." Momo said, just as the faint strumming of a guitar came through the line.

Ah, Kyouka had put her on speaker phone again. Not surprising. She tended to mess around with her (rather large) collection of musical instruments while on the phone with her friends.

"They worked pretty fast, I was really impressed." She added, looking around her new place and admiring the new set up.

Her mother would be proud.

"So you're still feeling okay about the whole living alone situation?" Kyouka asked, a tinge of concern in her voice.

Momo nodded before remembering her friend couldn't see the action. "Of course. This is a great opportunity to become more independent. Plus those 90 minute commutes to and from school were _exhausting_." She added with a groan. She was ecstatic when she had learned her new commute would only be 20 minutes – walking. She could even cut the commute by 5 minutes if she took the bus.

Kyouka laughed. "Yeah, I have no idea how you managed to do that all of last year _and_ managed to stay at the top of the class." She said, strumming another note on her instrument.

"With great difficulty." Momo sighed, running a finger absentmindedly along the granite countertop of her kitchen as she surveyed the rest of the apartment. "My extracurricular activities certainly didn't help..." She trailed off as her eyes landed on the door between the kitchen and her bedroom.

When the moving guys had first arrived, they had dismissed the room as a bathroom. But Momo had just finished setting up the actual bathroom a few minutes before she had called Jirou.

"Uh Yaomomo? You okay?"

Momo didn't respond, her eyes still focused on the door as she moved slowly towards it.

Was it a second bedroom? Her parents had told her they'd arranged for her to have a one bedroom apartment but perhaps they'd changed their minds at the last minute. Perhaps it was a spare room that she could use as a study. Perhaps she could even use the space to store her vast collection of exotic teas.

At that last thought she grinned and moved to grab the door handle.

"Momo _what the hell_?!"

She nearly dropped her phone at the sound of Jirou's voice. She had completely forgotten about her friend for a moment there.

"Kyouka you scared me!" Momo said with a scowl, removing her hand from the door handle to place it over her rapidly beating heart.

She could practically see Jirou puffing her cheeks out in irritation on the other end. " _You_ scared _me_! What are you doing? Why are you being all silent and weird?"

"I found another room." Momo explained, reaching for the door handle a second time. "I think my parents got me a two bedroom apartment instead of a one bedroom."

"…You rich people have the strangest problems."

Momo ignored her and opened up the door, already mentally decorating the room.

That is, until she saw what was inside.

The apartment had come unfurnished, yet this room was set up with traditional Japanese furniture, very different from her western style room.

And next to the bed there was a navy blue backpack and what looked like men's slippers, also navy blue with a simple design.

Oh god.

"Does someone live here?" Momo muttered to herself in horror.

There was no way. She had never agreed to living with anyone.

Was there a strange man living in her apartment? Did her parents know about this?

She faintly heard the front door open behind her but she couldn't find it in herself to turn around.

The voice she heard next both filled her with relief and with inexplicable horror.

"Yaoyorozu?"

"Momo what's going on? And is there someone there with you? That sounds a lot like–"

"Nothing, everything is fine. Kyouka I have to go, I'll talk to you at school." She cut her friend off and hung up before she could say another word.

Realizing she still hadn't said anything, she turned around ever so slowly until she locked eyes with a heterochromatic pair she'd recognize anywhere.

"T-T-Todoroki? What are you doing here?" She cursed inwardly at how shaky her voice sounded. She hated the effect he had on her but she couldn't help it; he was an oddly intimidating guy.

Shouto Todoroki had been in her class last year; their first year at Yuuei High School. Like Momo, he came from a wealthy, well-known family and excelled in school. He was – by far – the best player on the boys' soccer team and held a black belt in Judo.

Despite Momo being just as accomplished, there was still something about the guy that made her feel inferior.

It could be the fact that half the girls in her year were into him and half the boys wanted to be him.

Or perhaps it was that he had a quiet, cool personality and rarely warmed up to people. Izuku Midoriya was probably the only person she knew that he was actually close with.

"I live here." His response cut through her thoughts, startling her. "I moved in this morning but when I noticed the second bedroom I decided to go speak with the landlord. It turns out he made a mistake."

 _So I won't be getting a spare study room_ , she thought sadly.

"Is there any way to rectify the mistake?" She asked hopefully. There was no way she could go back to those 90 minute commutes again. Not with all the homework she'd be given and the volleyball tryouts approaching.

Todoroki's normally impassive expression morphed into a frown. "I'm afraid not. I went to check out some other properties he suggested today but they're all either too far away or too expensive. The best one I found is double the price of this one and it's not as nice. Besides, I can't ask my grandparents to pay any more than they have already. It wouldn't be fair to them."

Momo blinked. That was probably the most she had ever heard him speak.

"So I'm sorry Yaoyorozu," he continued with a sigh. "But I can't move out."

Momo thought of her parents and let out a sigh of her own. The budget they had set for this place was already incredibly high and despite their wealth, Momo felt bad asking them to spend even more on her. Plus if she did move, she'd have to (somehow) find a new place that was just as well-placed, pack everything up, move everything over to her new place and settle in all over again. There was no way she could go through the whole moving process again. Not when the new school year would be starting in two days.

"I'm afraid I can't either." She said, breaking eye contact and looking down at her feet awkwardly. She didn't fancy the idea of living with a boy but it wasn't just any boy. It was a classmate who, despite his aloof personality, seemed like a decent enough guy. After all, Midoriya and Iida liked him. How bad could he be?

His frown deepened as he regarded his classmate. "Why can't you move out?"

 _Okay... decent guy but a little blunt._

"I have my reasons."

Momo wasn't interested in arguing over who had it worse. They both came from wealthy families and, as far as she knew, neither of them _really_ needed to move out on their own but they did anyway.

"I see." His face was back to his usual, unreadable expression. "Well I suppose it can't be helped then. We'll just have to make this work for now."

Momo nodded, grateful he wasn't pushing the matter any further. "We can establish some ground rules if you'd like. Though I do pride myself on being a pretty quiet and tidy person - I don't think I'll give you too much grief." She added with a wry smile. "Plus, once student council and volleyball start up I'll be out of the house most of the day anyway."

"That's true. Same here." He said, meeting her gaze. "Though you know the school rules, Yaoyorozu. We can't let our classmates find out and risk getting caught."

That meant she'd have to keep this a secret from her friends as well. That thought didn't sit right with her somehow.

Still she relented with a sigh. "Yes, I understand."

Todoroki nodded. "Good. Then maybe - just maybe - this will work."


	2. Progress is Progress

**A/N: *cues Titanic gif of Rose going "it's been 84 years"***

 **I'm so sorry for the late update. Hopefully you haven't forgotten this story!**

 **I've honestly just been really anxious about my writing lately (there are so many good writers out there! I feel inadequate sometimes) and I let it get to me with this story. I re-wrote different parts like 30 times. It's been insane.**

 **ANYWAY enough with my sob story. Here's a 4,400+ word chapter to make up for the late update :D**

* * *

The first day of school arrived two days later and Momo was more than thrilled to finally have an excuse to leave the apartment and get away from her new roommate.

It had taken two days of forced conversations (all initiated by her) and incredibly awkward silences for Momo to realize their living situation wouldn't be the walk in the park she had initially believed it to be. While Todoroki had agreed (rather quickly – to her surprise) to living together, she knew it was only because he saw this as a temporary arrangement.

And while it was totally fair for him to see it that way, she couldn't help but take it just a _tad_ personally when he continued circling apartment ads in the newspaper, ate his meals in his bedroom and left his boxes – still packed up – near the doorway.

She wasn't that bad to be around, was she?

Despite already knowing Todoroki wasn't the type to open up to just anyone, his icy demeanor still bothered her more than she'd like to admit. But what could she do? They were simply two very different people. She couldn't force the guy into being her friend.

With an audible huff, Momo finished shoving the rest of her school books into her backpack and opened her bedroom door to find the apartment empty.

Of course he'd left without her.

Not that she was complaining – their conversations weren't exactly riveting.

As she walked to school, Momo tried to distract herself with other things; volleyball, her new class schedule, her weekly grocery list. Perhaps she would buy a cookbook after school. Her parents had had a chef at home growing up so she wasn't the most experienced cook… but how hard could it really be?

She listed off basic recipes in her head as she turned onto the street Yuuei High School was on.

 _Omelette Rice, Stir Fry Vegetables, Soba Noodle Salad…_

"Yaomomo!"

The girl in question turned to see Ochako Uraraka bounding towards her with a sunny smile on her face, followed closely by Kyouka Jirou and Tooru Hagakure.

"Hey guys! How are you?" She smiled brightly at the approaching girls, happy to see a few friendly faces.

"Oh we're great," Tooru spoke up before the other girls could answer. "But enough about that. Tell us more about your fancy new apartment!"

Momo couldn't help but giggle at the energetic girl. She had no idea how Tooru always managed to stay so upbeat but it was certainly refreshing after being trapped inside with Todoroki for two days.

"Kyouka told us you have a spare bedroom!" Ochako said before Momo could answer. "Do you know what you're going to do with it yet?"

Momo froze. Crap, she had forgotten she'd told Kyouka about the spare bedroom.

"N-no, not yet." She rubbed the back her neck nervously, refusing to meet any of their curious gazes. "I'll probably just store boxes in there or something. It's not very big."

"Oh." The girls looked disappointed with that answer. "Just boxes?"

"Just for now. Perhaps I'll find a use for it when I get settled in." Momo managed a small smile and the girls smiled back, happier with that answer. It wasn't technically a lie – especially if Todoroki was set on moving out as soon as possible.

It was a relief actually; knowing Todoroki was looking for a new place to live. It meant she'd only have to keep their secret for a short amount of time. She hated lying to her parents and her best friends. Momo couldn't help but wonder if he was also feeling guilty about all the secret keeping.

"By the way," Jirou started as they entered the school. "Was there someone there with you the other day? I swear I heard a voice that sounded just like–"

"Hey guys!"

Momo had never in her life been happier to see Mina and Tsuyu. She was _not_ ready to discuss the other night with Jirou and she silently gave thanks to whatever god was out there for the interruption.

The other girls exchanged greetings as she thought about what she was going to say when Jirou asked again. It was a lot harder to lie to her than to the other girls. She just always seemed to know when Momo was lying or not.

 _It's only a matter of time before Kyouka figures it out._ She thought warily as she felt herself being dragged towards one of the bulletin boards in the main entrance of the school.

Uraraka, the one dragging her, squealed in delight as she found the list of second year classes.

"We've got the same homeroom class again!"

"Wait, seriously?" Jirou said, sidling up beside them to get a better look at the board. "Like exactly the same?"

"I think so…" Mina answered, squinting as she trailed her index finger down the list of names. "Wow, yeah, pretty much the same, except Mineta is no longer in our class."

Momo couldn't stop the "Yesss!" that escaped her lips. Not that she really _tried_ to stop it. The little grape perv had been a constant thorn in her side all of last year and she couldn't be happier to finally be in a different class, far away from his lecherous behaviour.

"No complaints here!" Tooru cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"Indeed," Tsuyu nodded. "But who's replacing him? Because if it's someone like Monoma, I'm not sure I want to be there when Bakugou finds out."

The girls shivered at the thought.

"Nope, it's Hitoshi Shinsou." Mina announced, facing her friends with a wide grin. "He's pretty normal right?"

"Yeah, he's friends with Midoriya." Tsuyu said with a smile as the other girls let out sighs of relief.

 _All of the quiet ones are._ Momo thought with a smirk, thinking of a certain red and white haired boy.

Then she froze.

 _If there was only one change in the class list, then that means that Todoroki is in my class again this year._

"Yep, he is." Kyouka raised an eyebrow at her. "Since when do you care about Todoroki being in our class?"

The other girls turned to her with questioning looks as she mentally cursed herself for accidentally voicing her thoughts.

"I–I…"

"Who wouldn't care?" Mina (unintentionally) came to her rescue for the second time that day with a giggle. "He's dreamy. I hope he's put at the front of the class this year so I can look at him more." She winked as the other girls chuckled at her antics.

Momo closed her eyes and released the breath she had been holding, missing the look of suspicion Kyouka shot her way. 

* * *

Class 2-A looked pretty much the same as Class 1-A had looked. The only change was Shinsou sitting calmly in the second last row, playing a game on his phone.

All around him was the usual complete and utter chaos.

"DAMN IT DEKU, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THIS CLASS AGAIN?"

"O–oh hey Kacchan…"

"Deku!" Uraraka called out happily when she noticed the green haired boy. He turned away from Bakugou and shyly greeted her as she skipped over to them.

"BAKUGOU, I MUST ASK THAT YOU REMOVE YOUR FEET FROM THAT DESK." Iida joined the fray, attempting to calm things down, despite being the loudest one there. "YOU ARE DAMAGING SCHOOL PROPERTY."

The blonde haired boy let out a " _tch_ " and kept his feet where they were, choosing to look out the window instead when Iida made his way over to reprimand him further.

The other girls broke away from their group to join the various groups of boys spread across the room, leaving Kyouka and Momo standing at the front, unsure of where to go. It didn't really matter whether they sat or not since their homeroom teacher would be assigning them their seats in a matter of minutes anyway.

"So," Momo felt her friend elbow her lightly and turned to look at her. "When do _I_ get to see your new apartment?" Kyouka asked with a wink. "I'm the best friend so I should get the first peek right?"

Momo chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh y'know..."

"Good morning class." A gruff but familiar voice called out, saving Momo from yet another conversation she didn't want to have. How many times had she been saved in the last half hour? Four? Her lucky streak could only last so long.

"Mr. Aizawa?!" The class exclaimed in unison. It wasn't exactly common to have the same teacher two years in a row.

"Yeah, yeah, you get me again." He grumbled, making his way up to the chalkboard. "Try to contain your excitement."

"Now," he grabbed a piece of chalk and began drawing a diagram of the room. "Let's just get right into it. I don't want to waste time on seating, so the moment you see your name go find your assigned seat. No talking either. You can catch up at lunchtime."

As he wrote the names down on the board, everyone began to move around and find their assigned seats.

With Jirou distracted, Momo took off with a stealth she hadn't known she possessed until now, making her way towards her seat in the back of the classroom.

She saw Kyouka sit down and swivel around to look at her, but before their eyes met Kaminari sat down next to the purple haired girl and began chatting away; completely ignoring Aizawa's no talking rule.

Momo snorted at the look of irritation Jirou shot her seatmate.

She heaved out a long contented sigh and leaned back in her seat. Her first day of second year was going rather well so far. There was no Mineta, no awkward talks with Jirou about her living situation _and_ all of her friends happened to be in the same homeroom as her – a promising start.

"Yaoyorozu."

She looked up to see Todoroki standing before her. He wore his usual impassive expression but the rest of him seemed rather stiff and awkward.

She was surprised he was choosing to interact with her in the classroom of all places. Perhaps he had finally come to the realization that he couldn't continue to avoid interacting with her, seeing as they shared an apartment and a homeroom class. Perhaps he figured it couldn't hurt to get to know his roommate/classmate a little better. That was what she hoped at least.

Her eyebrows scrunched together as she mentally perused the possibilities. Perhaps Todoroki would finally open up to her and extend his hand in friendship. No more lonely dinners and awkward silences.

She looked up at the boy with a small smile. "Yes Todoroki?"

He blinked at her before setting his backpack down.

"You're sitting in my seat."

…

 _"Oh_." 

* * *

"I can't believe you're sitting next to Todoroki _again_ Momo," Mina whined, as the girls of 2-A sat down at one of the few remaining empty tables in the cafeteria with their lunch trays.

The other girls giggled as Momo flushed, recalling the awkward seating mix up from earlier.

Jirou rolled her eyes. "Since when do you have a thing for Todoroki?"

"Who says I have to have a crush on the guy to appreciate a pretty face?" Mina answered with a wink, eliciting another eye roll from Jirou; though this time it came with a small smirk.

"He _is_ pretty cute," Hagakure chimed in with a giggle, earning a high five from Mina.

Momo decided to join in on the fun. "Don't let Ojiro hear you, Tooru." She teased, laughing as the girl's face went scarlet. "He wouldn't like to hear that Todoroki is his competition."

"It-It's not like that!" She protested as the other girls burst out laughing. "We're just friends!"

"I'm not sure anyone believes that Tooru," said Tsuyu, picking up a rice ball. "After all, you two spend a great deal of time together."

Momo laughed along with her friends as Hagakure spluttered at the remark. She was grateful to be talking about something other than Todoroki for a change.

"Hey, now that I think about it, Uraraka and Midoriya spend quite a bit of time together as well." Mina added, tapping her chin with her index finger before turning to the startled brunette. "Is there something going on that you're not telling us Ochako?" She asked mischievously, reveling in the deep crimson shade the poor girls face took on.

"D-Deku?! No way!" Uraraka clutched her reddening cheeks.

"Hard to believe you when your cheeks look like that." Jirou noted dryly before taking a sip of water.

"I think the two of you would make a great couple." Tsuyu said thoughtfully, tilting her head ever so slightly to the right. "And I think Midoriya may even have a bit of a crush on you himself."

Uraraka let out an undignified squawk at this bit of information before burying her face in her hands and shaking her head side to side. Whatever she was mumbling into her hands was lost on the other girls though, so they decided to finally change topics.

"So Momo, what's the deal?" Mina leaned forward with a grin. "When are we going to get to see your new apartment?"

And just like that, the fun part of the conversation was over for Yaoyorozu.

"Yeah you promised us a girl's night." Jirou said, flicking a piece of broccoli her way. Momo flicked the vegetable back with a little too much force and it went rolling past Kyouka off the side of the table.

She sighed. "I know, I know. Once I get everything unpacked and organized I'll arrange a time for you all to come over."

"How about we come over and help you?" Uraraka suggested brightly. "It would be more fun that wa–"

"No, no, that's okay!" Momo cut in a little too quickly, waving her hands in front of her. "I–I just have a way of doing… things… y'know…" She trailed off clumsily as she realized the girls were staring at her oddly.

"You okay Yaomomo?" Mina cocked an eyebrow at her frazzled friend. "You're being kinda weird."

She noticed her friends exchanging glances with one another.

Momo attempted a reassuring smile (that was most likely anything but). "Of course. I'm sorry to worry you girls, it's just been a big change moving out on my own and preparing myself for second year. I'll feel better once I get settled in."

Momo sagged in relief as the girls bought the excuse and went back to eating again. She hated lying to them. As vice-president of her class, she was supposed to be a good role model for her fellow classmates – and good role models don't lie and secretly share apartments with their male classmates. But she couldn't risk being found out.

Momo resisted the urge to smack her forehead at the thought. She was only halfway through her first day and she was completely overwhelmed.

Unbeknownst to her, Kyouka was paying extra close attention to the expressions on her best friend's face and she didn't like what she saw. 

* * *

At the sound of the last bell, Momo was out of her seat and out the door before most of her classmates could even process what had happened. She was sure that must have looked incredibly odd to them, seeing as she was usually the last to leave; often staying behind to answer homework questions or chat with the other girls, but she was still reeling in embarrassment from her morning encounter with Todoroki.

Even Mr. Aizawa had looked rather surprised by her sudden departure – like he had just seen a rogue leprechaun bolt through the door and not his top student. She was just thankful he hadn't said anything.

As she made her way out the gates of Yuuei High, her phone lit up with a notification telling her Jirou had sent her a text message. Momo sighed and pocketed her phone, already knowing what her friend was going to say. She could tell that Jirou wasn't buying any of her lies or excuses, and it was only a matter of time before she was confronted over the issue.

Realizing she was out of food, she decided to stop by the supermarket near her place to load up on… well, she wasn't entirely sure. Having grown up with a chef in her household, Momo had never really learned how to cook anything. Because of this, she had spent the last couple of days living off of cereal and instant ramen.

Momo grabbed one of the red plastic baskets stacked up by the door as she entered the establishment. The store was a modest size with a fairly simple layout; produce on one side, meat and seafood along the back, dairy on the other side, and a quaint bakery nestled next to the dairy section by the door. She glanced around, wondering where to begin. She had all the time in the world, really, seeing as she was hoping to avoid Todoroki for the rest of the day. He would hopefully be on his way home now since his soccer tryouts weren't for another few days. 

* * *

Momo growled in frustration as she slammed her basket down in the cereal aisle, crouching down next to it and burying her face in her hands.

She had decided to start out in the produce department and had made it about two aisles over before her current meltdown. She had been in the store for nearly an hour now and her progress was disappointing to say the least.

Her shopping basket held an avocado, a lemon, three packages of instant ramen (grabbed in a moment of weakness) and yet another box of cereal.

She had all the recipes she'd found earlier lined up on her phone as she strolled around the store, but the moment she came in contact with any of the ingredients, she'd find herself making excuses for all of them.

 _Too hard._

Too many ingredients.

 _Takes too long to cook._

Seems complicated. What if I screw up?

It was a new feeling for Yaoyorozu; not knowing how to do something. She was known amongst her classmates for being the one who always had the answer, no matter what the question.

Of course, none of them had ever asked about cooking.

She groaned loudly, burying her head in her arms, not even caring who saw her at this point. She half expected some grocery stock boy to find her in this position and kick her out for loitering or causing a scene in the cereal aisle. Instead, it was the last person she was hoping to see.

"Yaoyorozu, what the hell are you doing?"

Momo considered the odds of Todoroki walking away and forgetting he ever saw her if she just stayed in her current position a little while longer. It didn't seem likely.

She slowly raised her head, watching as he reached into her shopping basket and pulled out one of the instant ramen packages. "Yaoyorozu, is this all you've been eating since you moved?" He raised an eyebrow, turning the package toward her.

 _He actually noticed?_ Momo gulped, attempting to regain her balance as she stood up. Then again, it would be pretty hard to not notice. Todoroki's side of the fridge was filled with fruits, vegetables, eggs and different sauces. Momo's had a single carton of milk, which she used for both her tea and cereal.

Todoroki continued to stare intently at her, awaiting her answer but all Momo could think about at the moment was disappearing into the floor and never coming back up again. She felt like a small child being scolded for reaching into the cookie jar before dinner.

"I–well… yes." She hung her head in shame, unable to look him in the eye after that admission. Exposing her one weakness to Todoroki of all people wasn't easy.

"I see. Come on then."

He then turned around and began walking down the aisle towards the meat display at the back of the store.

Momo grabbed her basket and scurried after him; her mind reeling. Why did he want her to go with him? And _why_ was she always so intimidated by this guy? In pretty much any situation where Todoroki was _not_ involved, Momo Yaoyorozu was a pinnacle of elegance, confidence and grace. She knew the answer to nearly every question thrown her way and she _never_ second guessed herself. But then in would walk Todoroki and suddenly she was _so_ unsure of everything.

The frustrating part was she couldn't even figure out why it happened. It wasn't like she had a crush on the guy. They barely knew each other. All she knew was that he had a sister and his father was a very successful businessman. On top of that, Todoroki wasn't exactly known for his sunny disposition. So she mentally crossed that one off the list.

"Yaoyorozu? Pay attention." Todoroki's voice cut through her racing thoughts. She looked around, realizing they'd arrived at the meat department in the back of the store. "You need to pick the correct type of chicken. In this case, we're looking for the breast. Do you see anything good?"

Todoroki was probably the only boy, besides Iida, in 1-A who could say the word 'breast' with such seriousness.

Instead of answering his question, she found herself asking one right back.

"Why are you helping me?"

It came out in a far more accusatory manner than she had intended but if it bothered Todoroki in any way, he certainly didn't show it. "You've helped me out in the past with schoolwork and such," he shrugged, his eyes not leaving the packages of chicken on display. "I'm simply returning the favour."

Ah, right. It was simply him repaying her for all her assistance in class last year. That seemed fair enough.

"I think this one should do." He said, picking up a pack with two chicken breasts nestled inside. "Now c'mon, let's get moving. It's getting late and I'd like to have dinner at a decent hour." 

* * *

"Yaoyorozu, what are you doing with that pepper?"

Momo froze, knife in hand, and looked up at her roommate/newfound cooking teacher with a sheepish grin. "Cutting it?"

"Into giant squares that no regular human could fit into their mouth?"

"…Yes?"

Todoroki sighed and gently pulled the knife from her hand, demonstrating how to cut the pepper into smaller more delicate pieces, then handed it back to her. "Now you try."

She kept his demonstration in mind as she began chopping the pepper into smaller pieces.

"Better." He gave a nod of approval before turning back to the chicken on the stove.

Momo groaned in frustration at her lack of skill in the kitchen as she continued chopping away. _Ugh, why am I like this?!_

The question had been meant for herself, but she had accidentally voiced it out loud. Todoroki put down the paprika he had been sprinkling over the chicken and turned toward her with a quizzical expression. "What do you mean by that?"

She hadn't really expected him to hear that, much less actually respond.

"Uh–well… it's just that–well, y'know…"

"I really don't." He said dryly, crossing his arms.

She let out a long, audible sigh as she put the knife down and let herself fall sideways so her hip was resting against the edge of the granite countertop. "I just mean… how can my classmates rely on me as vice-president of our class if I can't even cook something as simple as an egg?" She kept her eyes downcast, avoiding Todoroki's intent stare. It was weird admitting something like this to someone like him.

Her question was met with a rather long pause as he seemed to mull over the question.

"I know I don't get jokes a lot," he said finally, tilting his head slightly to the right. "But that was a joke right?"

"No, Todoroki. That was not a joke." She met his gaze timidly, feeling awkward. "I'm just not used to this feeling I guess…"

At that, he snorted. "You can't expect to be a natural at everything Yaoyorozu. It's just not possible."

"Says you." She retorted before she could stop herself. Where was this boldness coming from?

"I'm not good at everything," he said with a frown, turning back towards the stove to check on the chicken. "There are lots of things I'm not good at."

"Like what?" She picked up her knife and began to chop the rest of the peppers – properly, this time – and throw the pieces into a bowl.

"Like…" he scrunched his face in thought as he pulled the chicken off the stove to slice it up. "Golf… and chemistry. You should know; I went to you a few times for chemistry help during exams last year."

That was true, Momo thought. Chemistry seemed to be the one subject Todoroki actually had a fair amount of trouble grasping. It was probably the reason he was ranked fifth in their class instead of higher.

"So there you go," he grabbed the bowl of chopped up vegetables and dumped them into the pan with the now cut up chicken and teriyaki sauce. "Nobody is perfect. Perfection is a stupid notion." He scowled as he said that, stirring everything together in the large pan. "You're allowed to screw up and have a thing that you're not great at. It's all part of life. And besides," he turned to look at her. "Knowing you Yaoyorozu, you'll be a natural at this in no time."

She felt her heart flutter and her cheeks warm ever so slightly at the compliment. There was something different about it coming from Todoroki. Maybe it was because he wasn't the type to hand out compliments to just anyone. And because of that, she knew it was sincere.

"T-Thank you, Todoroki," she bowed slightly in his direction, mostly to hide her pink cheeks. "For everything today. I really appreciate it."

"No need to thank me," he said, turning off the stove and pouring the contents of the pan over the two bowls of rice they had set out. "Like I said before, I'm simply returning the favour. You're a big help when it comes to chemistry."

"I'm always here to help if you need it." She smiled warmly. _This feels like progress_.

He nodded in response. "Thanks Yaoyorozu. Sleep well."

And with that, he turned on his heel, bowl in hand, and went straight for his room, closing the door shut behind him.

 _Still gonna eat dinner in his room huh_ , Momo thought wryly. _Typical Todoroki_.

Though this time she couldn't help but giggle as well.

Because while it wasn't much… progress was progress. 

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review and whatnot to let me know you're at least still reading this after so long lol. Plus reviews are great motivators :) I appreciate all the ones from the previous chapter. They were SO nice and helpful to look at when I was feeling down about my writing. So thank you very much, those of you who reviewed last chapter! You made me smile and really helped to get this chapter written and out!**

 **Take care everyone! :) x**


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